PSYLOCKE | CAPTAIN BRITAIN // like a butterfly: House of X #4 Connecting Variant Cover by Jorge Molina

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

House of X #4 Connecting Variant Cover by Jorge Molina

56 comments:

Atomic Ton said...: Awesome artwork done by Jorge Molina. He has done justice for Psylocke throughout his career. Wish to see more.; August 14, 2019 at 5:16 PM
Lex said...: I like this look. I know a lot of people hate the complete matching team look to the costumes but I feel like with some tweaking they could show personal style while also showing unity.; August 14, 2019 at 5:18 PM
FSaker said...: I agree. In fact, I've become quite fond of the Muir Island saga mainly due to the visual identity in both the X-Men and the (O5) X-Factor teams.; August 14, 2019 at 5:25 PM
randybear said...: All these covers celebrating Kwannon and not Betsy :(; August 14, 2019 at 5:50 PM
Anonymous said...: I hear ya 😣 I want some Outback, Inferno & Fall of Mutants homage covers; August 14, 2019 at 6:09 PM
randybear said...: Or at the least some variants with the Asrar design or the new CB design. New Betsy gets no love.; August 14, 2019 at 7:08 PM
Rahsaan said...: That is, because so many of these artists starter reading in the 90s versus the 80s, which was the X-Men’s golden era... Though reading Powers of X 2, I think this Hickman lore will be the first time since the 80s that this stuff is truly lit again.; August 14, 2019 at 7:12 PM
Rahsaan said...: I like the uniformity of uniform, but the student uniform could use an updated, sleeker look to achievement that if non-students are wearing it. For instance, I thought Betsy and Ororo’s recent uniforms actually had some uniformity despite the color difference that catered to their own styles. The rest of the team could have been made to match. Jean’s sentinel look was truly a hot mess though. I actually will take the outmoded Marvel Girl look over that fashion faux pas she wore in Red and Disassembled. Glad ‘Ro is keeping her Red/Disassembled look.

The student uniforms looked so much better I will admit on the Shi’ar/Muir cast than they currently look on Katherine. She just looks really wack and all played out in her blue and yellow.; August 14, 2019 at 7:36 PM
Kikoken said...: I ve watched from afar but been a Psylocke fan since 1992. I understand the frustration by the Betsy butterfly split but I feel that if Betsy and Kwannon both use the butterfly It’s not a Big deal. They were obvs merged for a long long long time that it kinda makes sense. Don’t take it away from either. Obvs I personally prefer Betsy to keep it but I also love Betsy being in the inappropriate swimsuit with stripes. I’m a gay man and I don’t find it degrading in fact I find It empowering especially with her kick ass attitude. I find Betsy’s flowery headdress more offensive than the pvc swimsuit.; August 14, 2019 at 8:27 PM
Rahsaan said...: I dislike the flowers and the thong. The flowers at least possibly serve a purpose as a portal to Krakoa, which is a political statement on mutant liberation. The thong is just sexual fodder created by men writers and artists.; August 14, 2019 at 9:24 PM
Rahsaan said...: I do see your point though. However, from all implications based on feedback from Marcus To, the flowers are both political and utilitarian.; August 14, 2019 at 9:25 PM
Rahsaan said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 14, 2019 at 9:33 PM
Rahsaan said...: Also, Betsy is being scripted by a woman this time who chose this direction along with the artist versus the all man duo of Claremont and Lee who put her in the bathing suit.

💜; August 14, 2019 at 9:34 PM
PoetryInMotion said...: Nobody is celebrating Kwannon, that's supposed to be Betsy Braddock in her most memorable forum.; August 15, 2019 at 4:08 AM
Kiki M. Ishola said...: randy don't forget that this cover pays homage to the era Betsy was put in the Japanese bootay. So no, no one is drawing Kakwannon only raceswap Betsy.; August 15, 2019 at 6:33 AM
Kiki M. Ishola said...: Kikoken what does your sexuality have to do with Betsy being ripped off by Kakwannon. The butterfly belongs to Betsy. The Japanese stripper is supposed to be an empath with katanas. End of story.; August 15, 2019 at 6:35 AM
randybear said...: Its "Betsy" but the ninja Psylocke is essentially Kwannon now. None if the imagery is any longer affiliated with Betsy herself.; August 15, 2019 at 7:55 AM
FSaker said...: We should remember that Marvel usually returns the codename to the same person after a while. It didn't happen (and probably never will) with Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan, but Steve Rogers has given the Captain America mantle several times (the most recent cases being to Winter Soldier and then Falcon) and yet he's always become Captain America again; Thor has lost his title to Jane Foster but has reclaimed it again; X-23 became Wolverine for a while but this codename returned to Logan (before he was even resurrected); and so on.

What I mean is, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Betsy gets the Psylocke codename back after a year or two, while Kwannon either adopts a new identity, dies or just gets sent to editorial limbo.; August 15, 2019 at 9:33 AM
randybear said...: Fskaker, as much as I hate to say it realistically she will never be Psyloxke again. Marvel is catering to the casuals who only associated the name Psylocke with the sexy Asian ninja.

They will never give that identity back to Betsy. Kwannon is now Psylocke going forward always.

You see how the creators are adamant on moving forward with this direction they are cementing this new status quo as fast and best they can for the MCU to introduce mutants.; August 15, 2019 at 11:39 AM
Rahsaan said...: @Kiki,

I think Kikoken was assuring us that he doesn't sexually objectify Locke as someone who doesn't have sex with women, which I totally appreciate Kikoken, please correct me if I'm wrong on that), but I think a lot of homosexual men don't see that we also often objectify women by often putting them in positions that cater to patriarchy (I see this a lot with gay comic book fans), like supporting the outfit that Claremont and Lee deliberately chose to cater to male fantasy as nothing other than just outfit or as empowering when it was written by men for men. Anyway, that's a whole other topic and just my view, which I know many disagree with. :-)

I appreciated what my fellow homosexual was trying to say, but I fully admit that homosexual men definitely put women into sexist tropes as we too are indoctrinated by centuries of patriarchy. Anyway, I'm happy that Betsy will now be written by a woman as I'm curious to see how a woman writes her as a leader. Every other time she has been written as a leader or pretty much all of her character-changing moments, it's been through the lens of men writers.

All that aside, the thong remains tacky and not really a functional battle outfit on either Elizabeth or Kwannon. LOL.; August 15, 2019 at 1:12 PM
randybear said...: I agree. The hand outfit isn't empowering she wore it when she was fucking mindraped and conditioned to be someone she wasnt and forced to act for evil. It's not like CC and Lee were like "Let's redesign Psylocke for WOMEN!" Um no not especially when Lee took over plots for a few issues of XMen and was the idea behind her throwing herself at Cyclops in the most seductive of ways.; August 15, 2019 at 1:17 PM
FSaker said...: To be fair, there's a short story published back when Betsy was dead, where Wolverine narrates one time they were hanging out at a pub and she was telling him about an adventure she had; in this story, Logan says she told him she actually enjoyed walking around with her legs exposed and considered it one of the perks of being a superhero.

I'm not saying she should ever wear the Hand outfit again; it's also one of my most disliked uniforms of hers. I just don't see it as something demeaning to her; she did embrace that uniform and turned something that should represent a bad experience into something that gave her confidence.

---

By the way, randybear, returning to the Psylocke codename discussion, you have a point, but we should remember that things don't always go the way Marvel intended for them. If Kwannon fails to connect with the readers, she may get discarded and Betsy may return to her Psylocke ninja days (she doesn't need to be in an Asian body or to wear the Hand outfit in order to be a ninja, after all).; August 15, 2019 at 2:16 PM
randybear said...: Fskaker right she absolutley doesnt need to be Asian to still be a ninja. I wish they left Betsy as Psylocke as she was after Madripoor still using the psyblase and butterfly fighting up closely if she needed and she could've still worn outfits like the Anka or Land designs but Marvel I guess felt the pressure to keep the "Asian representation" that all these fans claimed Psylocke brought to the table 🙄; August 15, 2019 at 2:21 PM
Unknown said...: I like this cover because it shows an ideal lineup for an X-Book, which we didn't get with the new line of titles.
There is Storm as the leader, the whole team consists of major characters, and that could be Kwannon in the back. It would be better to flesh out her character in a supporting role rather than just giving her the starring role when modern readers might not actually know her...or they didn't read that trashy series "Mystery in Madripoor".

Despite Kwannon's backstory, she didn't agree to the body swap anymore than Betsy did. There is potential for this character.

The only person who could decide if an outfit is empowering is the person who is wearing it :)

@ Kiki: take a deep breath before you type.

As a gay man as well...must say that Gambit and Iceman are looking pretty nice here.; August 16, 2019 at 12:06 AM
Kiki M. Ishola said...: @Unknown I prefer to take several bites off you because you think that Kakwannon is going to outshine Betsy as Psylocke and replace her in this blog and everywhere. Guess again honey neither your sexuality nor your cheap tricks to persuade us with positive ninja comments will ever make Kakwannon a star. She is a plot dummy who wins votes because of her coochie-cutter.

Next time refrain from abusin your toxic masculinity by patronizing a woman if you want to appear as feminist ally.; August 16, 2019 at 4:56 AM
Finn said...: I love Betsy in Kwannons's body and the sexy thong outfit, back when she was kicking ass left and right and being a badass ninja in her own right!; August 16, 2019 at 9:06 AM
Finn said...: Daaamn the boys are looking sexy !; August 16, 2019 at 9:08 AM
randybear said...: You're using logic in an illogical sense here. Only the person wearing it well that "person" isnt real and they have no consciousness so we are talking about the creators who literally thought up these ideas for the character.; August 16, 2019 at 9:11 AM
randybear said...: Kwannon is now doing that. what's the issue you have exactly?; August 16, 2019 at 9:11 AM
Rahsaan said...: I was just telling someone on Facebook after yet another artistic rendition of Psylocke's butt with thong between cheeks that if Steve Rogers is America's ass, then Kwannon is Krakoa's. Psylocke is Marvel's most objectified character by a longshot. LOL.

I wonder if Kwannon will wear the bathing suit for like 30 years or if she will be treated to interesting uniform changes.; August 16, 2019 at 12:39 PM
Unknown said...: There are make characters in comics who wear speedos, like He-Man and the men in the 300. Psylocke is a fictional character yes, so what is the point of arguing what is objectifying for her?; August 16, 2019 at 3:31 PM
randybear said...: Weak argument Unknown still sorry. You're grasping.

My point is if you love thing Psylocke more power to you but dont act pretend like the design was created to be anything but sexual.; August 16, 2019 at 4:33 PM
Unknown said...: The ninja imagery will always be associated with Betsy. Just because Kwannon is back and using the name doesn't mean that all of her 20+ years of history has suddenly disappeared. Any callback covers like this will always be known to be Betsy Braddock. Anyone who thinks it's really Kwannon is being obtuse or purposely trolling.

That said, this cover and team look absolutely great. I can't wait till all this HoX/PoX stuff is done with so we can have Betsy back interacting with her friends again. I do hope they revamp her CB look a little though. I know Marcus To said she'll have multiple looks in the book (I'm assuming one is CB armor and the other is the Asrar look) but I hope we get a sleeker version of the CB uniform. Brian has had a couple so it's feasible.; August 16, 2019 at 6:32 PM
randybear said...: I agree about the design I hope its eventually redesigned so lose the stupid cape and that Wonder Woman looking skirt. I'd prefer she had a full body suit and not the cape and extra busy crap on top of it.; August 16, 2019 at 6:50 PM
Psi-Girl said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 17, 2019 at 12:08 AM
randybear said...: Psi girl much like how most casuals dont know Psylockes story 20yrs from now (with comic readers less and less) only the OGs like us will remember Betsy as the first Psylocke; August 17, 2019 at 10:27 AM
Unknown said...: We know Hickman has a three year minimum plan so we’re going to get Betsy as that for at least that amount of time. Even if Kwannon does prosper as Psylocke II as long as people are reacting positively about what’s going on with Betsy then she’ll continue to be pushed. Kamala prospers as Ms. Marvel with no fall to Carol. There have been tons of Robins but Dick Grayson nor Tim Drake’s popularity have never fallen. Jane Foster was Thor. Now she’s Valkyrie. When that’s done she might be something else.

What matters is the character and not the name. Even if no one remember Betsy had a telepathic butterfly 20 years from now they’ll remember something else about her instead. As long as she’s supported (and has good stories) then they’ll never really be a reason to forget anything about her history because she’ll always be around and it can be brought up.; August 17, 2019 at 12:56 PM
PoetryInMotion said...: ^All well and good assuming that logic applies to Psylocke. The difference between Betsy and the aforementioned characters is that the former has never worked as a solo character and only has a reputation as an X-Man.; August 17, 2019 at 1:16 PM
FSaker said...: Just in case someone is wondering, this cover connects to a variant cover for PoX #4, and the X-Men shown in the other half of these covers are: Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean, Nightcrawler, Angel, Cable and Jubilee.

Yup, Kitty was completely ignored in this art. And Jubilee was included. I could complain, but I actually prefer Jubes over Kitty, so...; August 17, 2019 at 1:26 PM
Unknown said...: The logic still applies. Even if she's only with the X-men for another 80+ years as long as she's getting supported she'll be pushed in that setting with whatever her new role might be. It's the character not the name. If Jean can switch back and forth between Marvel Girl, Phoenix and her own name while other characters do the same what's to stop Betsy?; August 17, 2019 at 1:28 PM
Unknown said...: @Randy the red also needs to go. I get that it's the colors or whatever but it clashes so bad with everything else.; August 17, 2019 at 1:28 PM
randybear said...: Yeah I wish the color scheme was a soft pink instead of the white, magenta for the red and lavender for the blue but I get they HAVE to use the union jack colors; August 17, 2019 at 1:56 PM
randybear said...: Hickman has a plan but Tini Howard is in full control of Betsy as of now I honestly doubt Betsy is even on Hickmans radar plus he mentioned the original ninja story is very nostalgic for him so I'm sure at the least he would prefer to use Kwannon but we will see.; August 17, 2019 at 1:59 PM
Rahsaan said...: @Unknown, you’re correct in that we all know it is Bets in that image above. When I referred to Kwannon’s ass, i meant that literally as it was Kwannon’s body that Bets was running around in showing off her ass. 🙃💜; August 18, 2019 at 12:36 AM
Renegade X said...: "All that aside, the thong remains tacky and not really a functional battle outfit on either Elizabeth or Kwannon. LOL." @ Rahassn completely agree 100%! Betsy had better costumes then that.; August 19, 2019 at 5:41 AM
Renegade X said...: I'm still upset that could had gave Betsy and proper Utopia X-Men costume like the rest of them when they all lived in San Francisco.; August 19, 2019 at 11:54 AM
FSaker said...: @Renegade X - Yeah, me too. It was particularly bad because back then the X-Men uniforms had some visual identity linking them together (mostly the X-badges and the textures in the uniforms).

I wouldn't even mind Betsy still wearing a blue bathing suit if it was just slightly remade to follow the visual identity of that time. Though at least she wasn't the only one who had this problem (the same happened to Magneto, Kitty, Gambit and Rogue - Rogue's case was particularly weird because she got a new uniform but it didn't follow the Utopia visual identity).; August 19, 2019 at 12:08 PM
Unknown said...: @Randy you have to remember that Tini might be writing but all of these things are happening because Hickman wants it so. There have been so many interviews where they talk about how he's been researching and building these plots for the last two and a half years in the background. Betsy going to CB is more than likely his idea and he has the mindset of where he wants these things to go. Tini is just building on Hickman's dream. The doll is in good hands and isn't going anywhere.; August 19, 2019 at 1:11 PM
Renegade X said...: @FSaker it made me a bit better when Magneto's Uncanny X-Men look with Sabretooh, Betsy, M, and Angel.; August 19, 2019 at 2:18 PM
randybear said...: Me too Renegade but Simone Bianchi was assigned the new designs for that run (why I dont know exactly) and he chose to keep Betsy in the thong hes noted to be a huge fan of Psylocke and would always draw her in the thong in sketches and covers so yeah blame editorial for not mandating a new one for her; August 19, 2019 at 2:41 PM
randybear said...: Unknown I think Hickman planned for the dynamic and mythos to get shaken up hut hes not accounting his plan for every single each and every mutant. Betsy isnt on his radar if she was integral to his plan she would be I'm the current events and his upcoming run but shes not. This was just a perfect opportunity for editorial to make these change and sell this new era.; August 19, 2019 at 2:44 PM
randybear said...: Yeah those were designed by Land and they were great looks! It's too bad they didnt let Land design the Utopia looks instead of randomly giving the job to Simone Bianchi who wasnt even on interiors.; August 19, 2019 at 4:29 PM
Lex said...: In terms of old costumes, my favorite look were the Morrison era New X-Men uniforms. Would've loved to have seen Betsy in a version.; August 22, 2019 at 12:16 AM
Renegade X said...: @Lex speaking of old costumes... http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31300000/Elizabeth-Braddock-Psylocke-x-men-31370096-400-325.jpg from X-Men Legends I... she also had this one with short hair as one of her concepts.; August 22, 2019 at 12:27 PM
randybear said...: Closest we got was the Age of XMan design looked very similar to the New XMen designs; August 22, 2019 at 1:50 PM
randybear said...: Low key Betsy's CB design is growing on me. I really just want to see more of the costume in action. Also curious to know who will be the rotating artist with To on Excalibur.

The book still seems so far away 😬; August 23, 2019 at 5:30 PM

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